Know the difference between linked and embedded sounds

The reason is usually because the sound was linked, not embedded. When the recipient opened the PowerPoint file, the audio file was missing, so it wouldn’t play. Some audio (whether narration, music or another sound) is linked and some is embedded:

Linking means that the audio is in a file that is separate from your PowerPoint file. The PowerPoint file contains a link to the audio file.

Embedding means that the audio is within the PowerPoint file. There is no separate file.

Advantages and disadvantages of linking and embedding

You don’t always have a choice, but when you do, you should consider which option is best for your needs.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Linking

Keeps file small; if you change the audio file, the presentation uses the updated file

Requires access to the linked file; if the audio file is missing or moved, the sound doesn’t play

Embedding

Ensures that the audio will play (usually)

Makes the PowerPoint file larger, sometimes too big to e-mail; to change the audio file in the presentation, you have to delete the link and re-link to the new file.

What determines if you can embed a sound?

In PowerPoint 2003 and 2007, you can only embed .wav (WAV) sound files. That means that MP3 and other audio files will be linked. Moreover, WAV sound files that are greater than 100 KB are automatically linked, rather than embedded. However, you can increase the size limit to up to 50,000 KB (50 MB). Here’s how to do so in PowerPoint 2003 and 2007:

PowerPoint 2003: Choose Tools> Options and click the General tab. In the Link Sounds with File Size Greater Than text box, change 100KB to any number up to 50000 KB. Click OK.

PowerPoint 2007: Choose the Office button> PowerPoint Options > Advanced. In the Save section, change the number as just described.

Note: This change is not retroactive; it doesn’t affect existing linked files. If you have a linked WAV file that you want to embed, increase the size limit, delete the audio file, and re-insert it.

In PowerPoint 2010, sounds are embedded by default, including MP3 files. This is a great feature, because sounds are now more likely to play. E-mail attachment limits are larger than they used to be, but do remember that some sounds can be very large. The good news is that MP3 sounds are compressed, so they’re significantly smaller than WAV files.

What if you want to link a file in PowerPoint 2010? That’s easily done. Choose Insert tab> Audio. In the dialog box, select your file and click the down arrow next to the Insert button. Then choose Link to File.

How do I e-mail a presentation with a sound?

Let’s say that embedding makes the presentation too big to e-mail. You could use a large file transfer service, such as YouSendIt or Dropbox. You could post the file on a web server or some other stored location, such as Amazon S3, and give people the link. These methods let recipients download the large file.

If you have a linked sound, you need to e-mail both files, the presentation and the audio file. You can zip the 2 files or use PowerPoint’s Package for CD feature; this might make the file small enough to e-mail or you can use one of the methods just discussed for transferring large files.

When you use the Package for CD feature, at least you know that all the related files are together. Here’s the procedure:

Then follow the instructions in the dialog box. You can burn the files to a CD or choose the Copy to Folder option, which just saves all the files in one place.

Make PowerPoint think that an MP3 is a WAV file

In most cases, you’ll get better results if you embed sounds. That’s why Microsoft changed the behavior of sounds in PowerPoint 2010. But if you have 2003 or 2007, there’s a trick you can use to make PowerPoint think that your MP3 file is a WAV file, so you can embed it (if the file is 50 MB or less). This is one of the advance techniques I cover in my e-book, 101 Advanced Techniques Every PowerPoint User Should Know. (Check it out!). You need to install some 3rd-party software.

In the Open dialog box, click the ellipsis button. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, navigate to a folder, select it, and Click OK.

A list of the MP3 files in the folder appears. Select the MP3 file that you want to use, and click Convert.

CDex saves the MP3 file with a WAV filename extension in the same folder as the original. It‘s the same size, too. You can now embed it into PowerPoint.

“101 Tips Every PowerPoint User Should Know” is for everyone who never took a course or read a book about PowerPoint! These tips will fill in the gaps, speed up your work, make presentations easier, and help you get better results. Now updated through PowerPoint 2016 and Office 365. Learn more at http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/101-tips/

Hi. I have PP2003 and downloaded Cdex and “converted” a MP3 file to Wav. I then embedded the Wav file in Powerpoint (after setting the size to 50000Kb), and said I want the sound to start automatically. When I right click on the sound file and “Edit Sound Object” it shows a playing time of 0.02 secs – and that is all I get when it starts automatically. If I right click the sound file and “play sound” I get the whole sound file. Please help me to get the whole sound file to play automatically. Thanks allan

Hi Ellen. My earlier post refers. I have managed to work around the problem by embedding the WAV file as a slide transition rather than a sound object, and it works. I would still like to know why only 2 secs of the sound file plays when set to “automatically” if you get the chance. Thanks a lot – allan. PS – I used WordPress to create my own website – great piece of software.

My son-in- law downloaded a video from youtube – Microsoft Office Power Point 97 – 2003 slide show which is no longer there. It is in my documents on my computer and also in Sky Drive. However, I cannot transfer it to my ipad via email. I tried dropbox , picture but no sound. The file is 8.39 MB
It is an audio linked file. How can I transfer it to my ipad when my Microsoft Office Power Point didn’t create it? My Microsoft Office Power Point is 2007.

Is there any way to convert an existing linked file in a power point so that the music will play? The power point was given to me and I don’t have access to the songs that were added so I am not able to reinsert them. Can I take what is already there and change the songs to an embedded format? Thanks for your help.

I started using PowerPoint 2003 a few years ago, at the time nobody could show me how to send a presentation with music by Email. I asked at the computer course and in the Library but no joy. Just by chance I found the Cdex site and was highly delighted with the results. In March last year I purchased a new laptop, complete with Microsoft office 2013. I got a nice surprise when I realised I did not have to convert music no more for sending by mail. The only problem now is a lot of my contacts don’t receive my narration using a “Mike”, they receive music etc but not my voice! Some of them have downloaded the “Microsoft PowerPoint viewer” as they don’t have “office”, the only people who receive my narration are the ones with office 2013! Is it something I am doing wrong at my end?

Two things. First, you need to tell novice users how (and suggest where) to install this product. Second, after converting an MP3 file to wav, it had a 15 minute hunt to figure out where the new file was created, since it wasn’t left in the same directory as the original, and there was no indication of where the output would be sent on the conversion screen.

These two things make me wonder how reliable this tool really is? Clearly the Human Factors have not been considered at all in it’s design.

if you have two songs in ppt 2010 and one plays and the other doesn’t how do you get the second one to play i tried editing it and fading it in and out and even playing automatically what do do what to do

Dear Sre.M.me I need your help.I have windows 10 I made a presentation i insert Awav sound file but the file it s large and i canot send,somebody told me by entering a number in the maximo sound file to 50.000 mg.but i dont now how.i appreciate you can help
Silvio.

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